Goals
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Improved Pay
We are a group of experienced, dedicated and quite exceptional clinicians. Our compensation should be commensurate with our high level of knowledge and responsibility. Plus, we shouldn't have to work multiple jobs or plan on overtime just to make ends meet.
Safety First
There are inherent risks with the job, but we must do everything possible to mitigate those risks. We should also be able to speak out and decline if we feel the risk is too great. This safety first goal also needs to be more than just a policy on paper - it needs to be backed up with action. Patient and team safety before profit is paramount!
Health Benefits
Our medical, dental, retirement and other benefits leave significant room for improvement. It is our belief that being in the healthcare industry, we should have access to the best healthcare available! This includes medical, dental, casualty and homeopathic care! To perform our best we have to be at our best!
Due Process
No individual that we know goes to work planning on doing the wrong thing. We should not have to fear the at-will nature of a corporation taking away our livelihood without the opportunity for due process. We want everyone we work with to have the opportunity to defend themselves and be given the fair expectation of job security.
Clinical Education
As clinicians we are passionate about caring for the sick and injured. In order for our skills to remain current, we should have access to hands-on, virtual and simulated education for all aspects of our duties that goes beyond just monthly homework assignments.
Retention
Each of these goals plays into the concept of retention. Keeping those who have dedicated their time and energy to becoming the best of the best is important. This not only benefits the employee when they are incentivized to staying with an organization, but also the employer who gains their dedication and exceptional skill!
Our Patients
Each one of these goals seems to be centered on the worker, but studies have shown that these improvements really do more than that. A brief review of literature shows there are benefits to patients and improvement in patient outcomes at hospitals where successful union campaigns were held. This is true for multiple nurse-sensitive outcomes, like incidence of urinary tract infection, neurologic conditions and in-hospital death rates (Dube, Kaplan, & Thompson, 2016). Another study in 2018 found that patient's who had suffered in-hospital cardiac arrest had better outcomes on units with better nurse to patient ratios and perceived working conditions (McHugh et al., 2016). In 1999, the registered nurses of the California Nurses Association successfully sponsored and lobbied the California Legislature to pass mandatory nurse-patient ratios and the outcomes have been astounding. This union sponsored and union led advocacy resulted in mandatory staffing ratios which has translated to lower patient mortality, lower nurse burnout and improved nurse retention when compared to states without mandatory ratios (Aiken et al., 2010).
What does this mean for us? Well, we have the opportunity to advocate and promote better working conditions while inferring from the current body of research that better working conditions translate to better patient outcomes. We don't have any studies focused on the HEMS or HAA industry, but that's why we are trailblazers. We want to create this improved work environment so that we have the opportunity to prove that not only is it better for us, but also better for our patients! That is what is generally at the heart of every healthcare provider - the desire to provide the best care possible to the patient(s) we have the privilege of caring for!
References
Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Cimiotti, J. P., Clarke, S. P., Flynn, L., Seago, J. A., Spetz, J., & Smith, H. L. (2010). Implications of the California nurse staffing mandate for other states. Health services research, 45(4), 904–921. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2010.01114.x
Dube, A., Kaplan, E., & Thompson, O. (2016). Nurse Unions and patient outcomes. ILR Review, 69(4), 803–833. https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793916644251
McHugh, M. D., Rochman, M. F., Sloane, D. M., Berg, R. A., Mancini, M. E., Nadkarni, V. M., Merchant, R. M., & Aiken, L. H. (2016). Better Nurse staffing and nurse work environments associated with increased survival of in-hospital cardiac arrest patients. Medical Care, 54(1), 74–80. https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000000456
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